A long-form spoken-word poem that drags myth out of the temple and into the estate, the pub, the bus stop, the bedroom, the kitchen, the bad decision, the hangover.

Gods and monsters are neighbours, lovers, parents, kids, blokes at the bar, people trying to survive ordinary life while carrying ancient weather in their bodies. The poem’s argument is simple and sharp: the epic never left. It just changed clothes.

Originally performed with orchestral accompaniment, Brand New Ancients has the pulse of performance running through it — incantatory, urban, intimate, and restless. It is very much early Tempest: class-conscious, myth-literate, emotionally direct, slightly bruised, and tuned to the private catastrophes hidden inside daily life. A strong fit for readers of contemporary poetry, spoken word, modern myth, theatre texts, and writing that understands the sacred as something you might glimpse under fluorescent lights while someone is putting the kettle on.

Picador paperback, first published 2013. Good second-hand condition, with light shelfwear, minor rubbing to edges and corners, and mild page toning. Binding sound and text clean.